Funding Supports Justice Lab: Students’ Engagement in the Community
Clinton, N.Y. – Hamilton College’s Levitt Center Justice Lab has received a $350,000 grant from the Winston Foundation. The funds will support the further development of this lab, a semester-long program in which students engage with public policy and intern within the local community.
Students take a set of four parallel courses that combine mutually reinforcing academic and experiential learning around the broad theme of justice. All the instructors in the Lab work together to coordinate syllabi to provide students with an integrated, interdisciplinary understanding of the topic.
Students in last semester’s lab addressed justice and technology with an emphasis on the ethical use of technology, its potential to promote a more just world and the potential threats that technology may pose. The fall 2024 semester focused on the root causes of youth gun violence in the local area. Next semester’s program will be built around the relationship between justice and renewable energy transition from a local and global perspective. Earlier semesters engaged in issues of homelessness, human and civil rights, community building and social change, and immigration and asylum issues, among others.
During each semester, students transition from classroom theory to real-world practice by interning with public defenders, district attorneys, specialized courts, researchers, and community and faith leaders. The Justice Lab exemplifies experiential learning at its finest, combining internships, research, community engagement, and local and international study.
Hamilton has emerged as a national model for small liberal arts colleges addressing legal inequality. Through the Justice Lab, Hamilton students become active participants in their community.
The Winston Foundation is a private foundation that is located in New York, NY.
Levitt Center contact: Levitt Center Director Chris Willemsen cwillems@hamilton.edu
Justice Lab contact: Justice Lab founder Frank Anechiarico fanechia@hamilton.edu
